Davis County residents may take unused medications to one of seven sites to be destroyed during a “Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet,” event on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The event is being organized by a coalition of healthcare providers, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Davis law enforcement agencies and Hill Air Force Base.

It is a semi-annual special community medication take-back.

People are encouraged to clean out their medicine cabinets to remove expired, unused, and no-longer-needed prescription and over-the-counter medications. The drop-off locations are manned by area law enforcement personnel.

Clearing away medications that are no longer used prevents poisonings, abuse and misuse, and protects the environment, according to a DEQ press release.

Health providers and law enforcers say that keeping old or unused medications can lead to poisoning or can tempt those who might want to experiment with them for non-medical purposes.

Another problem has been that adults and the elderly may save medications, such as antibiotics, for use at a later date.

This is considered misuse and can lead to antibiotic resistance and can delay treatment of the original condition, according to the press release.

Furthermore, when people choose to get rid of their medications, they sometimes flush them down the toilet, which can lead to contamination of the water supply.

Taking medications to a permanent collection site or a Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet special event can prevent this, the press release says.